Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Join forces with expert investigator Professor Layton and ace attorney Phoenix Wright in this unbelievable crossover adventure. Find out what new twists they bring to the courtroom as they solve puzzles and debunk witnesses’ lies. Cross-examine multiple witnesses at the same time to uncover the mysteries of the magical city of Labyrinthia.Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney will be available in the Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS at midnight ET on Aug. 29. Click here to watch a trailer for the game.

Azure Striker GUNVOLT – From Inti Creates and featuring the talents of Keiji Inafune, the creator of the Mega Man series, Azure Striker GUNVOLT takes the best aspects of Japanese 16-bit classics and updates them with new play mechanics and slick graphics. For a limited time, the game comes with a free digital code to download the 8-bit nostalgia-fueled MIGHTY GUNVOLT as well. Azure Striker GUNVOLT will be available in the Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS on Aug. 29. Click here to watch a trailer forAzure Striker GUNVOLT.

Thorium Wars: Attack of the Skyfighter – Pilot one of three Skyfighters across alien worlds to protect Earth. Push your dogfighting skills to their limits in this futuristic 3D aerial shooter, available exclusively in the Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS. Clickhere to watch a trailer for the game.

Virtual Console on Wii U

Mega Man X3 – Every Thursday in August, Nintendo and Capcomare bringing classic Mega Man games to the Virtual Console service in the Nintendo eShop on Wii U. Mega Man X and his partner, Zero, must discover why an antivirus has failed to turn robots from destructive Mavericks into peace-loving Reploids. Run, jump, dash, scale walls, avoid obstacles and fight enemies in eight challenging stages as you hunt for the latest cure.

NintendoeShop on Wii U

SteamWorld Dig – After its positive reception on Nintendo 3DS, indie hit SteamWorld Dig is making its way to Wii U for the first time. In this platform mining adventure, take on the role of Rusty as he arrives at an old mining town in great need. Explore an underground world full of secrets, treasure and terrors with interface elements that use the Wii U GamePad controller. Click here to watch a trailer for the game.

The Fall – Explore an alien world in this unique blend of action game play and adventure-game puzzles in The Fall, which launched Aug. 26. Take on the role of ARID, the artificial intelligence within a high-tech combat suit, as you struggle to save the suit’s unconscious human occupant. Get ready for a disturbing and engrossing journey as you explore the world of The Fall. Click here to watch a trailer for the game.

NintendoeShop Sales

Select Wii U and Nintendo 3DS games from Capcom are now up to 60 percent off in the Nintendo eShop. This offer is valid until 8:59 a.m. PT on Sept. 4.

Super Little Acorns 3D Turbo is 50 percent off (reduced from $7.99 to $3.95) from 9 a.m. PT on Sept. 3 through 8:59 a.m. PT on Sept. 24 in the Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS.

Soccer Up 3D is 71 percent off (reduced from $6.99 to $1.99) until 9 a.m. PT on Sept. 17 in the Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS.

Nintendo has confirmed Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney will finally arrive in North America this summer. The courtroom drama come puzzle adventure was released for Europe earlier this year and reviewed favourably by critics, along with receiving an impressive 9 in our own review. Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney will launch August 29 on the Nintendo 3DS.

Professor Layton and Luke Triton team up with Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey to unravel the mysteries of Labyrinthia. But whispers of witchcraft permeate the town and fear of the Great Witch Bezella’s uprising has never been more prominent. The battle between legal and logic over magic and fantasy is both dramatic and compelling until the Story’s End.

Level-5 and Capcom bring together the meeting of two brilliant minds in Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney in their first crossover game – and it’s utterly enthralling. Inspired by children’s classic fairytales, Professor Layton and his trusty sidekick Luke find themselves in the curious town of Labyrinthia after meeting Espella Cantabella, a young girl on the run from witches. While there’s no wardrobe in sight, both the professor and Luke discover Espella’s book – Historia Labyrinthia – and are swallowed into the pages à la The NeverEnding Story.

Meanwhile, Phoenix and Maya are in London for a spot of legal action, but are weaved into Espella’s story and Labyrinthia rather by accident. But when all four meet in the town, they must work together to uncover the Storyteller’s secret.

Layton and co. look on in awe at the Storyteller’s Parade, where everything he writes shapes the future of the town.

For fans of both the Ace Attorney and Layton series, there is a pleasing balance of courtroom drama and puzzles scattered throughout the storyline. Movement and investigation follow the Layton design and format, with 70 puzzles to solve and 200 hint coins to find, while the witch trials track the Ace Attorney design with a few tweaks. However, due to the nature of the storyline, the witch trials are often lengthy and are far less frequent than the brief but well-paced investigation process, leading to somewhat lopsided gameplay.

Newcomers will be overjoyed at the variation in puzzles, though fans of Layton may find the difficulty level too easy, with most solvable in a short amount of time. Hidden puzzles or ones offered by characters are much more diverse in difficulty, with Puppy Postal Patrol, Unusual Music Box and Chalice Challenge outshining in design. Court room drama gives players more scope to make mistakes and the addition of using Layton’s hint coins is well utilised, offering a selection of answers rather than pointing out the obvious.

The wacky, off-the-wall characters are still present for Ace Attorney fans, where outrageous conversations provide much amusement for otherwise serious scenes, plus the exceptional voice acting brings depth and distinct differences to their personalities. Capcom and Level-5 have blended together wonderful drama, combined with a thrilling story full of intriguing twists. And the emotion between the characters, melting seamlessly with the game’s soundtrack, brings a lump to the throat rather unexpectedly.

Labyrinthia’s Town Square bathed in oil lamp light with the Belfry looming over.

In terms of aesthetic design, Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright is divine. The 3D works beautifully between the foreground and background images, with the medieval setting exuding in creativity. The design team appear to breathe new life into the mythical town and are at home in the fictional places, just as in Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy. The art style between Capcom and Level-5’s franchises, at first, seem quite off-putting but begin to transform and mould in perfect harmony as the story progresses.

However, an unfortunate flaw in the game’s design arrives with numerous characters on-screen at once. While cross-examining testimonies, Phoenix can question a number of witnesses on the bench, but in doing so, the frame rate can drop considerably in both 2D and 3D. While it’s not a major fault, it does weaken the visual appeal of a near-perfect game.

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a fantastic merge of two brilliant minds and, combined with a gripping yet fiery story, is also an absolute gem for the genre. Hopefully there are no objections from Capcom and Level-5 for a sequel.

This week’s UK charts are now in courtesy of GFK chart-track. There are only two Nintendo 3DS games within the top 40 individual charts, but two brilliant minds of law and logic are still a force to be reckoned with. Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright slips back ten places to number 16, sandwiched in between South Park and Grand Theft Auto V. And also moving back ten places is Yoshi’s New Island, which we reviewed and gave a score of 6/10, placing at 30.

In a surprising re-entry within the all-formats chart, Super Mario 3D World for the Wii U comes in at the back of the pack at number 40, sitting just behind Pokemon Y. Below you will find the top 40 individual chart, with Elder Scrolls Online for PC claiming the top spot this week.

This week’s UK charts are now in courtesy of GFK chart-track. Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney leads the way for 3DS games this week and debuts at number 6, meaning there are no objections from the Great British gamer public this week. The meeting of two brilliant minds isn’t quite enough to deter gamers from purchasing PlayStation 4’s Infamous: Second Son, however, which places at the top of this week’s chart.

In other 3DS news, Yoshi’s New Island slips down four places from 16 to 20, but still retains a good position in the chart. Though it’s sad news for Pokemon X and Y as both games slip out of the top 40 entirely. Here’s the top 40 individual chart in full.

For all those Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright fans, Level 5’s Akihiro Hino has recorded a special message talking about what European 3DS owners can expect within the game. Hino says that the development team has taken great care into developing a unique storyline where these two professionals meet. He hopes the game will express a “movie-level” quality to it. Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney will land on the European 3DS on March 28.

Nintendo has uploaded a short teaser trailer for upcoming courtroom-drama-come-mystery game Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Fans are bound to keep their eyes peeled for clues after seeing a horrific car crash unfold in the teaser, and that’s why both Layton and Wright need your help to solve this mystery. European 3DS owners can jump straight into the action when the game releases on March 28.